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Welcome (back) to office

Published: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 2:39 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 2:39 p.m.

Whether you are President Barack Obama basking in the glow of a re-election victory or the newest member of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission anticipating your first meeting, welcome — or welcome back — to office.

For this great nation of ours to work, we require two things: an informed electorate willing to make tough choices and the hard-working people of grace, bravery and fortitude willing to run for office and serve.

The jobs are all tough.

When divided by the number of hours these public servants generally devote to their offices, the annual pay is just a pittance, not that any of them are doing it for the paycheck. If that were the motive, most would come out better taking a second job at minimum wage.

And the thanks are few and far between. Public servants are much more likely to hear from constituents griping about a vote or an action than those expressing gratitude for his or her service. Not that the gratitude is what keeps them serving the public. If that were the reason, most would resign in disappointment shortly after their swearing in.

No, it’s not for the thanks, and it’s not for the money. So why serve?

Each public servant would have to answer that question individually, but there are some pretty good guesses.

First, there is a sense of duty to one’s community and a desire to do these jobs well for the good of the public.

In a cynical world where we denigrate politicians just for running for office, it is difficult sometimes to imagine the good, solid reasons they have for running. But they are there.

The people on the Port Commission or on the Parish Council or on the Public Service Commission or in Congress or in the White House are there to do a job they think they are best suited to accomplish.

That is not to say they are beyond reproach. The newspaper, along with all their constituents, is more than willing to hold our public servants’ feet to the fire when we suspect they are performing poorly or acting out of anything other than a concern for their constituents.

Along with the public scrutiny, though, there has to be a modicum of respect and even admiration that they are there doing the job when most of us would not even run for office under any circumstance.

Now that Tuesday is behind us and just a handful of runoffs remain to complete the election cycle, this is the right time to say welcome or welcome back to office.

<p>Whether you are President Barack Obama basking in the glow of a re-election victory or the newest member of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission anticipating your first meeting, welcome — or welcome back — to office.</p><p>For this great nation of ours to work, we require two things: an informed electorate willing to make tough choices and the hard-working people of grace, bravery and fortitude willing to run for office and serve.</p><p>The jobs are all tough.</p><p>When divided by the number of hours these public servants generally devote to their offices, the annual pay is just a pittance, not that any of them are doing it for the paycheck. If that were the motive, most would come out better taking a second job at minimum wage.</p><p>And the thanks are few and far between. Public servants are much more likely to hear from constituents griping about a vote or an action than those expressing gratitude for his or her service. Not that the gratitude is what keeps them serving the public. If that were the reason, most would resign in disappointment shortly after their swearing in.</p><p>No, it's not for the thanks, and it's not for the money. So why serve?</p><p>Each public servant would have to answer that question individually, but there are some pretty good guesses.</p><p>First, there is a sense of duty to one's community and a desire to do these jobs well for the good of the public.</p><p>In a cynical world where we denigrate politicians just for running for office, it is difficult sometimes to imagine the good, solid reasons they have for running. But they are there.</p><p>The people on the Port Commission or on the Parish Council or on the Public Service Commission or in Congress or in the White House are there to do a job they think they are best suited to accomplish.</p><p>That is not to say they are beyond reproach. The newspaper, along with all their constituents, is more than willing to hold our public servants' feet to the fire when we suspect they are performing poorly or acting out of anything other than a concern for their constituents.</p><p>Along with the public scrutiny, though, there has to be a modicum of respect and even admiration that they are there doing the job when most of us would not even run for office under any circumstance.</p><p>Now that Tuesday is behind us and just a handful of runoffs remain to complete the election cycle, this is the right time to say welcome or welcome back to office.</p><p>Best of luck in your difficult, often-thankless job.</p><p>And thank you for your service.</p><p>Editorials represent the opinions of</p><p>the newspaper, not of any individual.</p>